Want To Complain To Cambodia's Gov't? There's An App for That

[geovalin]

A new mobile and web application will help Cambodians better track complaints registered with local governments, but part of the the app’s effectiveness hinges on whether the country’s leaders are receptive to the technology. Known as Transmit, the app works by allowing selected government and grassroots leaders to enter in complaints made by citizens during routine community council meetings.

The app then sends the complaints to an online database. Once in the database, the government officials referenced by the issues can address them and indicate the status of the complaints. The database is public and offers registered users the opportunity to comment on the complaints. Currently, citizens register complaints with pen and paper or in a spreadsheet on an official’s computer.

“The overall goal of creating this app is to improve responsiveness and downward accountability of local government to the Cambodian citizens,” said Zach Center, country manager of Pact, the nonprofit organization behind Transmit. “We hope to achieve this goal by providing a tool that makes the process of documenting, monitoring and analyzing the issues raised by citizens to government officials increasingly accessible and transparent.”

read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshuawilwohl/2016/02/14/new-app-to-help-cambodians-track-complaints-made-with-local-govt/#491d08827c8e